Entered the U.S. in 2023 and Worked as a Beautician
"Deported After Being Falsely Accused of Drug Cartel Ties"
A Venezuelan man in his twenties, who was deported from the United States to El Salvador under the Donald Trump administration because his tattoos were believed to be linked to a drug trafficking cartel despite a lack of concrete evidence, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), an organization known for its critical stance toward the Trump administration, announced in a press release on its website on July 24 (local time), "In accordance with relevant laws, we have filed an administrative lawsuit against the U.S. government on behalf of Neiyerber Adrian Leon Rengel," adding, "Rengel was unjustly detained in the United States and deported to a foreign country."
According to the lawsuit documents released by DDF, the defendants are the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversee U.S. immigration policy. The amount claimed in the lawsuit is $1.3 million (approximately 1.78 billion won).
Rengel, 27, was arrested by authorities on March 13 in an apartment parking lot in Texas. The reason for his arrest was that the tattoos on his body were believed to be associated with the notorious drug cartel "Tren de Aragua" (TdA). On February 20, the Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)."
Rengel legally entered the United States in 2023 and had been working at a beauty salon. He claims he has no connection to the cartel and was not given a clear explanation for his arrest at the time he was detained. After his arrest, Rengel was sent to El Salvador by the U.S. government. The U.S. government sent more than 250 deportees to the El Salvador Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in an "outsourced detention" arrangement. At CECOT, Rengel was repeatedly beaten by correctional officers with fists and batons, and on one occasion, he was dragged to a camera blind spot and assaulted, according to DDF.
Norman Eisen, founder of DDF and former ethics counsel to former President Barack Obama, stated, "This case is alarming even for those who are not constitutional experts," adding, "Detaining someone and making them disappear somewhere without legal recourse is a horrific act."
DDF added that Rengel was sent to Caracas, Venezuela earlier this month under a prisoner exchange agreement between the United States and Venezuela, and that he is now afraid to return to the United States.
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